Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

लक्षकोटिसहस्राणि सरांसि सरितस्तथा । समुद्राश्च महापुण्या वनान्यप्याश्रमाणि च

Transliteration

lakṣakoṭisahasrāṇi sarāṃsi saritastathā | samudrāśca mahāpuṇyā vanānyapyāśramāṇi ca

Translation

Il est des centaines de milliers, voire des crores, de lacs, et de même des rivières; des océans aussi, souverainement saints; ainsi que des forêts, avec des ermitages.

Word by Word

• lakṣa-koṭi-sahasrāṇi: hundreds, crores, and thousands (in great numbers)
• lakṣa-koṭi-sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-समाहारार्थे

• sarāṃsi: lakes
• sarāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• saritaḥ: rivers
• saritaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tathā: likewise, also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—समुच्चय/उपपद (also/likewise)

• samudrāḥ: oceans
• samudrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• mahā-puṇyāḥ: greatly holy
• mahā-puṇyāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (समुद्राः इत्यस्य)

• vanāni: forests
• vanāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (also/even)

• āśramāṇi: hermitages
• āśramāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra (Setubandha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sweeping sacred landscape: countless lotus-filled lakes, winding rivers, the ocean’s expanse, and forested hermitages with ascetics—presented as a single sanctified panorama of Setu-kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Lakes (Sarāṃsi)
• Rivers (Sarit)
• Oceans (Samudra)
• Forests (Vana)
• Āśramas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha-world is vast and saturated with merit, where nature and ascetic dwellings together form a sacred ecology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Setu/Gandhamādana sacred region is praised through its countless holy waters and āśramas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it extols the abundance of holy sites conducive to pilgrimage and merit.